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Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet to Apple and Amazon with a $300 million
investment that it believes could revolutionise reading habits.

The software giant said yesterday that it would acquire a stake in the digital
operations of Barnes & Noble, the world’s largest bricks and mortar book
chain, in a direct challenge for supremacy in the digital books market.

Barnes & Noble has spent heavily to develop an e-reader called the Nookas an alternative tablet device to Amazon’s Kindle or Apple’s iPad.

The deal with Microsoft lends huge cachet to the Nook and should give B&N
the financial